A Revival of Prayer

It’s time to pray. I really mean that this morning – IT’S TIME FOR US TO HIT OUR KNEES AND PRAY!  We need revival and the only way that it’s going to happen is for us to hit our knees and start praying as if our lives depended solely on it. One of my favorite stories about praying for revival is this: In 1940 a theologian Professor by the name of Doctor J. Edwin Orr took students to visit the Epworth Rectory in England. The purpose for this specific visit was to tour the childhood home of John Wesley, a well-known reformer of the Church. The class walked through the home intimately. Viewing the kitchen where John Wesley would’ve begun his mornings, the study where many books were stored and preserved, and the staircase where Wesley walked daily in his home. Lastly, the class toured Wesley’s bedroom. At the bedside Professor Orr, pointed to the markings of knee patches on the flooring. He explained to the class those knee indentions were where Wesley would pray several hours per day asking God to bring revival to the Church. He prayed it would sweep through the world. When the class returned to the bus, Professor Orr noticed a student was missing. He returned back into the home and followed the voice of a student who was kneeling at the bed with his knees implanted into the knee patches praying: Lord, do it again and start with me. Professor Orr touched the young man’s shoulder and quietly said, “It’s time to go.” And rising from the knee patches was the young Billy Graham. The significance is this: if we want revival, it’s going to have to start with you and I. With us asking God to start in our hearts, calling us to repentance and action for the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. Let’s start today asking God to start the revival and start it with you and me, starting in our hearts.